SHANNON’S mounting losses in recent years means that the airport won’t be granted its independence in the short-term, even though a 2011 deadline had been put in place to determine if it would be broken away from Dublin Airport Authority control and given its wings as a standalone entity.
A NEW group which aims to fight for the right of the unemployed and marginalized in Clare will be officially formed in the coming week. The group, which is a collection of employed and unemployed volunteers, is currently working under the name ‘Hope for the Marginalized’ but is aiming to host an AGM before the end of July and officially launch the group.
The first aim of the group will be to lobby for practical and inexpensive changes to education, social welfare and local business strategies which they feel could have a massive effect on the lives of young unemployed people.
“We have found that we can work towards and very workable ideas that we could lobby the Government to introduce changes which will make our country a better place to live in,” said Ennis woman Paula McNamara of Hope for the Marginalized.
“At the moment the unemployment crisis is so massive, especially in this part of the county, so our first aim to work in that area but after that we would hope to broaden out our work to other parts of the community who are marginalized.
“The group isn’t just people who are unemployed – it is a wide cross section of people in Clare. If anyone who has any ideas that they think might help the situation then we’d love to hear from them.
“We are at a crossroads now, we have to make a choice about how we want this country to be. Do we want it to be focused about bailing out the banks and forget about the weak and vulnerable or should we think about this in a different, more sensible way.”
Some of the ideas put forward by the group include targeted training in universities, colleges, VECs and FÁS, which would see a greater focus on offering courses in areas where there is a realistic prospect of a job.
The group is also looking for all people on social welfare to be given a single case worker to oversee every aspect of the case, from benefits to retraining opportunities and is calling for a greater emphasis to be put on alternative local opportunities for creating jobs.
“We know that the country is broke – that is why we are not calling for big schemes, we are looking at practical solutions which could help drag us out of this situation,” continued Paula.
Anyone who wants to be involved in Hope for the Marginalized can contact Paula on hopeforthemarginal ized@gmail.com.
AIRLINES and passengers will have to rally behind Shannon Airport before the Minister reinstates the controversial travel tax if the airport is to make any kind of recovery, according to the airport pressure group Give Shannon Wings.
Ennis businessman Brian O’Neill was reacting to the Tanaiste’s warning at last week’s mid-west aviation conference, where he stated that the tax will be reintroduced if the airlines cut numbers.
And O’Neill added that whatever negotiations the various government departments are currently having with the airlines, they should be more transparent so that people in Clare know what is being planned.
“The airlines have the break they asked for and now they have to bring greater numbers into Shannon. And the travelling public have to support the airport and plan trips as much as possible to use the routes that are already there,” he said.
An Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore, said last week that the Government will “have to look at what Shannon Airport is doing and what role it plays in the overall picture of things. The objective of removing the travel tax, which was at the request of the airlines, was to increase the numbers and if we find that some airlines, instead of increasing numbers, are cutting back on routes and cutting back on activity, then we would have to revisit the issue of travel tax.”
O’Neill, of the Rowan Tree hostel and restaurant in Ennis joined forces with John O’Conner of Custy’s music shop and David Woodford from the Irish Shop came together to form the Give Shannon Wings and an online petition in support of the airport late last year. The petition which contained more than 13,000 signatures was presented to the the Minister for Tourism along with ten ‘demandments’ on what is needed to resurrect business at the aiport.
“The development of the Lynx Cargo Hub is to be welcomed but the airlines have to take advantage of this break. At the same time routes have to be encouraged and supported and there needs to be a targeted package put in place to promote the airport and let people know what routes are available.”
The other key to Shannons recovery lies with the travelling public, he said. “We need to support the routes that are there and plan to use them whenever possible and make a determined effort to see can we get where we’re going by using Shannon?
“We don’t know what the Minister is saying to the airlines or what he is saying to Michael O’Leary. It has been put about that Ryanair have been offered incentives. If that’s the case, then let people in the mid-west know what is being said and what we can expect.”
THE new First Citizen of Clare has told his fellow councillors and local government chiefs that cutting rates is key to kick-starting a resurgence in the county’s economic fortunes.
Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes has said that tackling the rates problem within the county will be a priority during his year in office, even if it means introducing cut-backs in other areas of Clare County Council’s yearly budget.
“The rates issue is critical,” Mayor Hayes told The Clare People . “A lot of businesses in Clare are struggling to survive. They have cut every other cost, but when you take the rates, from commercial rates to sewerage and water charges, it is a huge burden on ordinary businesses.
“The small businesses across the county are the ones that are going to get us out the trouble we’re in. They’re the ones that are going to provide employment. Clare County Council needs to recognise this.
“If cutting rates means we have to cut services, they we have to look at that. It we don’t do something, our rates base is going to fall. And with new charges that are put in place by the government, it’s important that the funding from these charges filter back into local government immediately.
“In the next few months, prior to any budget, I want all councillors in Clare to have a real look at what we can do to make this council leaner – it is important to look how we do all our business in the sake of finances. If we don’t continue to make strides in that, our rates base is going to fall. It is a key thing for me as mayor of Clare,” he added.
“I’m following in the footsteps of former councillors from East Clare who served in the chair,” Cllr Hayes told fellow councillors at the Clare County Council AGM last Thursday. “Sean Brady from 1932 to ’69, Johnny Moloney from 1984 to ’85 and Colm Wiley from 1993 to ’95. They were Fianna Fáil men as well and it was great honour to follow people like that,” he added.
“We have great hope right across this county. We as a council have been putting in place policies to lead this county forward. You can see that in the County Development Plan in the Clare Tourism Forum.
“What’s good about Clare is its people, its culture and its sharing capacity to help each other. We need to celebrate the good things of Clare and come out with a positive attitude of celebrating that. We need to do that on a monthly basis. Every month we should look at an aspect of our county and celebrate that.”
47-year-old Mr Hayes is the fifth Fianna Fáil mayor of Clare since the title was created in 2001 and the 20th chair of the county council from the party from the Fianna Fáil benches.
THE centre of Ennis town should be developed as much as possible, in an effort to attract shoppers.
That’s according to the local Chamber of Commerce, in the wake of the County Development Plan’s publication yesterday.
As part of the retail strategy, which is incorporated into the Development Plan, the challenge for Ennis is to improve its retail representation, particularly through the provision of large modern shop units in the town centre, without harming its attractive historic character.
The strategy also states that there is scope for improvement in the range of non-bulky and bulky comparison goods offered in Shannon.
It states that the growth of retail floor space should be encouraged so that the town centre can improve its quality of service in Shannon.
Among the groups to make submissions was Ennis Chamber of Commerce. CEO Rita McInerney said there are several positive parts of the plan.
“The big message is to develop a strategy that keeps a core in the town. We would be in favour of that; developing the core of the town as much as possible. There are a lot of new places opening up and we want to make sure they stay and we have to foster that,” she said.
“The one thing I picked out of it [the plan] is the commitment to develop town centre improvement strategies to make town centres more attractive for shoppers,” said Ms McInerney.
She believes that the content of the plan is achievable, but everyone must work together to ensure it happens.
“It’s implementing the elements of the plan within the timeframe that is important. A lot of work has gone into it. It’s a vision. Now we need to make it a reality. Otherwise we are going to have more businesses closing,” she said.
“It’s a combination of efforts; the local authorities in conjunction with local businesses and ourselves. We all have a job to do. We all need to get on board and work progressively,” she said.
“It is very much a balancing act. We have a unique town centre. You need to provide customer choice and diversity. We are located between two cities that have high street stores. We have to think very carefully about what type of companies we want in terms of retail. Is it viable to compete with those? There is a lot of interest in Ennis from retailers but they find it difficult to get town centre locations of the right size. We need to look at combining units in the town centre whilst keeping the character of the town centre. Everything is achievable,” he said.
“Overall the vision of the plan is very good in terms of retail. We just have to follow through on them,” said Ms McInerney.
THE headquarters of Clare County Council has been put forward as the new home for former President Eamon de Valera’s recently restored 1947 Dodge Plymouth.
The Dodge served as the state car for first, President Sean T Ó Ceallaigh and then de Valera.
The car had been stored at the de Valera Library in Ennis since 1998 until it was damaged by floods in 2009.
It was transported to a workshop in Sixmilebridge where it was fully restored.
The project was overseen by vintage car enthusiast and independent member of Clare County Council, PJ Ryan.
Yesterday, the Mayor of Clare, Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind), paid tribute to Cllr Ryan’s work.
He told the adjourned June meeting of Clare County Council that Cllr Ryan had restored the car at a 40th of the normal cost.
He said Cllr Ryan had done the county a “unique honour” by restoring the car, a comment that prompted councillors to deliver a round of applause.
Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said there had been a number of important vehicles in the ownership of Clare County Council that could benefit from Cllr Ryan’s expertise.
He told the meeting that a 1930s fire tender is located in the Ennis Fire Station. Cllr Meaney asked if Cllr Ryan “could take a look at it”.
Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) suggested that the car be located in the foyer of Clare County Council or in a proposed new library building.
Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) objected, saying that the car should remain at its present location in the de Valera Library. He said the Council could not afford to waste resources in finding a new home for a vintage car.
Cllr Meaney said the car could be threatened by floods if it remained at the library. Cllr Curtin said the Council would prepare a report on the cost of re-locating the car.
In a motion submitted to the meeting, Cllr Curtin requested that the “manager inform the Council of the arrangements for the re-location of the Motor Taxation Office and the restored De Valera’s car within Áras Contae an Chláir.”
The meeting heard that the Motor Tax Office will be re-located to the Council’s main offices on New Road within the year.
A DUBLIN man has appeared in court in connection with an alleged burglary that took place in Sixmilebridge last year.
Simon Gentles (26) with a previous address at 23 Casement Grove, Finglas, Dublin, appeared at Ennis Circuit Court on Thursday.
However, the court was told that the accused no longer lives at this address. It is alleged that Mr Gentles committed a burglary at Ardkyle, Sixmilebridge on January 7 (2010). Mr Gentles is also charged with possession of a firearm, to wit a medallist over and under shotgun.
Counsel for Gentles, Michael Collins BL, told the court that his client had been forced to leave his home in Dublin because he had “received a threat on his life.” As a result, Mr Collins explained, his client had since been on the move from “place to place”.
Mr Collins described his client’s ongoing attempts to supply Gardaí with an address as a “work in progress” due to his present situation.
He told the court that Gardaí are satisfied that the threat against Mr Gentles is serious.
Detective Garda, Kevin O’Hagan, told the court that he agreed with Mr Collins’ summation of events. He said the only outstanding matter was for the accused to provide gardaí with an address and for that address to be deemed acceptable by gardaí.
Referring to the accused’s current situation, Judge Donagh McDonagh said: “Not to put too fine a point on it, he’s going into hiding”.
Judge McDonagh added that gardai had advised against Mr Gentles signing on at a local garda station.
Mr Gentles supplied a written ad- dress to Detective O’Hagan and Judge McDonagh. Detective O’Hagan said he accepted the address.
Judge McDonagh re-admitted the accused to bail on the condition that he resides at the given address. He also ordered that if Mr Gentles intends to change address, he must inform Detective O’Hagan of the change in address, in writing, prior to moving. The accused is due to appear in court again at a later date.
A WORLD title is to make its way to Sixmilebridge this week, after Tom Cusack secured honours in powerlifting in the US at the weekend.
The 36-year-old, from Ballyliddane, Sixmilebridge, won the title at the World Drug-Free Powerlifting Championships in Chicago, in the 82.5 kilo dead weight lift. He defeated opponents from 14 other countries in winning the title.
Tom secured entry to the finals after he won a European title in Malta last October, having previously won the national title.
Tom, who runs Hillview Nurseries, set up his own gym and trains daily by himself.
His proud mother, Ita, told
A QUIN woman has won an award for her new business, which develops learning support computer games for children with reading difficulties.
Linda O’Sullivan’s company Footbridge Interactive won first prize at the LEAP Business Awards at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) last week and earned a prize of a € 50,000 investment from AIB’s Seed Capital Fund.
Footbridge Interactive games are aimed at improving reading fluency and comprehension for children with dyslexia. It is integrated into fun stories, which makes it appealing for children. It is aimed at seven to 12-year-olds, initially in Ireland the UK and possibly further afield at a later stage. The games are designed for children to play independently, at home or at school.
Linda established her company in 2010, as she felt there was an opening in this area. She won the award after she did a 12-month (LEAP) Enterprise Acceleration programme at LIT.
“I set it up last year. Jennifer Keane joined the company in January of this year. Jennifer has a background in animation and design. My background is in developing content for kids TV. I worked with a number of companies in Galway (including the Galway Film Centre),” said Linda.
“There wasn’t a huge choice of products. We have worked very closely with dyslexic experts and educational experts in all of this. We have worked closely with Limerick Dyslexia Support Centre as well,” said Linda, whose 14-year-old son Oisin Mac Criostail is dyslexic.
She explained how the new game works. “The child logs in and plays with the game. The game progresses the child. The child’s strengths and weaknesses are tracked. It is very good for learning resource teachers in schools. It is for the child when relaxed at home. In a computer game environment, they are quite happy to repeat things which they need. It compliments the work they do in school,” she said.
Linda has enjoyed the path to setting up her own company.
“My first step was I got a feasibility grant from Clare County Enterprise Board. It allowed me to look into the feasibility of it. I got an innovation voucher from Enterprise Ireland. We got further Enterprise Ireland funding from there,” she added.
“Everybody was very enthusiastic about it. It will be available from September. It will be a subscriptionbased production,” she said.
In advance of the final touches being put on the games, Linda will have a few very busy months ahead. “We are going to be working very hard over the summer to get the product released for the start of September. We will have a big launch in the UK and here,” she said.
INDEPENDENT councillor Michael Guilfoyle was last night elected as the new Mayor of Ennis.
Cllr Guilfoyle secured the backing of a majority of councillors at yesterday’s annual meeting of Ennis Town Council to beat off the challenge of Fine Gael councillor, Johnny Flynn by five votes to four. Cllr Guilfoyle replaces outgoing Mayor, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind).
He was proposed for the post by Cllr Peter Considine (FF) and seconded by Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind).
Cllr Flynn was proposed by Cllr Mary Howard (FG) and seconded by Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab).
Nominating Cllr Flynn, Cllr Howard said her party colleague had fought three elections and had been elected on either the first or second count on each occassion.
Cllr Considine said Cllr Guilfoyle had handled the position as Chairman of the Council before and had done an “excellent job”.
Councillors Brennan, Considine, Neylon, Guilfoyle and Brian Meaney (GP) voted for Cllr Guilfoyle. Councillors Howard, O’Shea, Flynn and Mary Coote Ryan (FG) voted for Cllr Flynn.
Cllr Guilfoyle was first elected to Ennis Town Council in 1983. He served as Council chairman in 1988 and 1991 and was the town’s first Deputy Mayor when the position was introduced in 2004.
In the same year, Cllr Guilfoyle lost his seat in the local elections. He regained his Council seat in 2009 and served as Deputy Mayor in the same year.
Cllr Guilfoyle told the meeting that as a person “born and bred” in Ennis he said it was “great honour” to be Mayor.
Cllr Guilfoyle acknowledged the role of outgoing Mayor, Cllr Brennan, highlighting the opening of new playground and youth centre facilities. He said he hoped to introduce a new civic awards scheme to recognize local people.
He also paid tribute to Cllr Flynn, hailing his commitment to the town before adding, “I hope you’re turn comes”.
Cllr Guilfoyle added, “I hope I will be as fair around this table as Cllr Brennan and other councillors were”.
Cllr Considine said Cllr Guilfoyle had represented the town with “great dignity and some panache”.
Cllr Neylon said people in the Turnpike, where Cllr Guilfoyle lives, had described him as “the comeback kid”.
Cllr Flynn wished the new Mayor every success, saying he had the energy and skills for the job.
Cllr Neylon was elected Deputy Mayor ahead of Cllr Paul O’Shea. He was proposed by Cllr Brennan and seconded by Cllr Meaney. Cllr O’Shea was proposed by Cllr Flynn and seconded by Cllr Howard.
Councillors Brennan, Considine, Neylon, Meaney and Guilfoyle voted for Cllr Neylon. Councillors Howard, Flynn, O’Shea and Coote-Ryan voted for Cllr O’Shea.
Cllr Brennan thanked his family, councillors, council officials and council staff. He added, “Without the support of family you won’t do much.”